The Flight of the Moonstone
by gallaghergirl09
Summary: *Takes place after RTA season 2 ep. 21, "Destinies Collide."* Rapunzel has faced heartbreak and challenges on her journey, but none so great as this: the betrayal of her best friend. In the wake of Cassandra's fusion with the moonstone, the princess and her company forge a path forward, in order to restore peace and order to their world. *Rated T for peril and some mild allusions*
1. Chapter 1

***AN: So, yeah... given what happened in the S2 finale of "Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure"... certain elements of my previous Tangled story are thoroughly debunked. It is officially cancelled, unless and until we get Cassandra redemption. In the meantime, please enjoy!***

Rapunzel looked upon her best friend in horror. Before her eyes, she had been transformed by the moonstone into someone completely different, someone with turquoise blue hair and eyes, and clothes which looked as if they had been made from the black rocks themselves. Cassandra's eyes relayed pure rage and hatred.

"I tried to warn you, Rapunzel," she said through malevolent laughter. "You have to be careful who you trust."

"Cassandra, I don't understand," Rapunzel cried. "Why are you doing this?"

"Of course you wouldn't understand," Cass hissed. "Why would you? You have everything. A family who supports you. Your true love. A throne to ascend to."

"I-"

"If you had touched the moonstone and gained the ultimate power," she went on. "You'd be regarded as a hero for the rest of time, while I would still be left to be your pathetic, overlooked maidservant for the rest of my life. I would never get the chance to prove myself, or earn glory defending the crown the way I am meant to. Now, I _have_ my chance, and there's only one thing in the way of my destiny; _one thing_ that could take my power away from me."

"Not a chance, Ice Queen," Eugene growled, letting go of Rapunzel to stand between her and Cassandra on the bridge.

"And what exactly are you going to do, Fitzherbert?" Cass sneered. "Or should I call you _prince _now? In case you haven't noticed, you're unarmed. Maybe you should have listened to your father and destroyed the moonstone while you had the chance."

Cassandra raised her hands, which glowed the same blue as her hair and eyes. Pointing towards Eugene, she released a stream of some sort of energy from her fingertips. After only a moment's hesitation, Rapunzel tossed her hair in front of her, creating a barrier to deflect the ray.

"Cass," she called. "Stop it. This isn't you. Please, just _talk_ to me!"

"Not happening, _princess_."

Cassandra released more magic from her hands. Standing, Rapunzel willed her hair into a ball-shaped shield around herself and Eugene. The couple felt tremendous vibrations as the energy from the moonstone met the shield. Rapunzel dropped it slightly to see the rebound effect knocking Cassandra down, forcing her over the edge of the bridge and into the void below.

"Cass," Rapunzel cried. Her hair fell back around her shoulders as she reached out towards her friend. "No!"

"Rapunzel," Eugene shouted, grabbing both of the princess's hands. "That blast will have wrecked whatever strength this place still had. It's only a matter of time before it falls right down on top of us. We need to go _now._"

"But, Cass-"

"_Now!" _

Not waiting for a refusal, Eugene pulled Rapunzel by the hand to the door they had entered from. Having heard some of the commotion from outside, King Edmund, Adira, and Lance had again raised the statue fragment in front of the door to let them out. Once in the larger corridor, Eugene waved for the others to follow him.

"Let's go!" he called.

"But, what about Cassandra?" Lance asked.

"There's no time!" Eugene insisted. "We've got to go _now."_

The crumbling structures around them left little room for argument. King Edmund led the group back through the castle to the front entrance. They had barely made it to the gondola landing when debris began to fall from all sides. Rapunzel used her hair to draw everyone close to her, then activated her hair shield once more. Before long, the dust settled, and Rapunzel felt safe to let down her hair once more. She turned and, where there was once a proud, foreboding castle, there remained only rubble. _Cassandra…_ Her knees suddenly felt weak. They shook and gave way beneath her. Eyes filling with tears, she wrapped her arms around herself. _Cass… _She barely registered Eugene placing an arm around her shoulders as he crouched beside her.

"What happened in there?" Lance finally asked. "What happened to the moonstone? And where's Cass?"

"Cassandra betrayed us," Eugene spat. "She took the Moonstone for herself and… merged with it."

"Merged with it?" King Edmund wondered. "I didn't know such a thing was possible."

"The only thing that should have been able to come into direct contact with the moonstone is the sundrop," Adira confirmed. "The fact that Short Hair was able to draw such power from it…"

"Not that that matters much anymore," Rapunzel sniffed. "Now that Cass is…"

"You may want to look before you draw any conclusions, Princess." Adira pointed out into the distance, beyond the rubble of the palace, where a stocky, blue-haired figure could just be made out.

"Cassandra," Rapunzel exclaimed. "Cassandra!"

Rapunzel stood to run towards her friend, only to be held back by Eugene.

"Let me go," she begged, struggling against his grip on her wrist. "I have to-"

"You don't know what she'll do to you if you get close," Eugene argued.

"Fish Sk- er, His Highness is right," Adira agreed. "And, besides…"

Looking again, the group saw that Cassandra had turned away, and was now running in the opposite direction of them.

"Cassandra!" Rapunzel cried again. "Where could she be going?"

"There's little telling," King Edmund answered. "Like I said, the moonstone can get into your head, let you _think _you're in control, give you ideas… and that's when it's _not _fused with your body."

"Your Majesty." Rapunzel turned to face the king. "Please, tell us everything you know about the moonstone. How do we change Cass back?"

"I'm afraid I don't know," Edmund admitted. "An event like this is unprecedented."

"There has to be _something_ we can do!"

"Why are you so concerned about her, anyway?" Eugene asked. "After what she just did!"

"It's _Cassandra_," Rapunzel reminded. "Remember? Our friend? We owe our lives to her who-_knows-_how-many-times over?"

"Believe me, I know. I care about Cass, I do, but, right now, your safety is more important to me."

"I know she just tried to, well, kill us, but I don't think that was her. The way she acted, how she looked at me… that wasn't _our _Cass. We have to help her."

"I'm with Rapunzel," Lance interjected. "The Cass _I _know would never do something like that."

"I have to agree," Adira nodded. "Short Hair and I may never have seen eye-to-eye, but I never once doubted her loyalty to the princess."

"All for one and two for tea!" Shorty chimed. Max and Fidella whinnied their agreement, chroused by a nod from Pascal.

"So, are you with us?" Rapunzel asked.

"Okay," Eugene finally nodded. "Let's help Cass."

"Woohoo!" Rapunzel cheered.

"The question is _how,_ though," Lance reminded.

"The fact still remains that the only thing capable of counteracting and neutralizing the moonstone is the sundrop." Adira said.

"So, I still have to touch it," Rapunzel translated.

"Like Cassandra will let that happen," Eugene refuted. "You saw her just now; she'd sooner kill you than let you get close enough to touch the moonstone and neutralize her new powers."

"His Highness does have a point," Adira agreed. "We need a plan."

"Ok, seriously, Adira," Eugene scoffed. "Enough with this 'Highness' stuff, it's weirding me out."

"It is just as strange to me, believe me," Adira rolled her eyes. "But, like it or not, you _are _the prince. As such, I have to address you with formality."

"No, no you don't!"

"So, you'd rather I call you Fish Skin?"

"No! Why can't you just call me Eugene?"

"Eugene?" Edmund wondered. "I thought you went by Flynn."

"That was my thieving name," Eugene explained. "I go by my real name now."

"Your real name according to the orphanage, maybe," Edmund refuted. "But certainly not your given name."

"Wait, what?" Eugene did a double-take. "What _is _my given name, then?"

"We hadn't had a public christening before I evacuated the palace," the king explained. "But your mother and I wanted to name you after _my _father, Archibald."

"Archibald?" Rapunzel raised an eyebrow. Behind her, Lance was struggling to hold back a laugh.

"Yeah," Eugene rolled his eyes. "Cause you're one to make fun of names, _Arnwaldo._"

"Hey!" Lance cried. "Not in front of Adira!"

"As fascinating as this all is," Adira cut in. "It isn't getting us any closer to a solution to the problem at hand."

"Adira's right," Eugene agreed, eager to change the subject. "Let's find a way back to the mainland, salvage what we can from the caravan to make camp, and regroup. It's been a long day, and we'll all think better with full stomachs."

"But, the farther we get away," Rapunzel argued. "The farther _Cass_ gets away."

"The moonstone is inherently attracted to the sundrop," Adira explained. "One way or another, it will lead Cassandra to us, or us to her. Right now, it is best we prepare for when that happens."

There were no further arguments. Silently, the group split up to assess their situation and find a way to get back to the other side of the chasm between them and the rest of the world.


	2. Chapter 2

That evening, the group spread out around a small fire. Unsurprisingly, after a meager meal of what they found from the wreckage of the caravan, no one felt much like talking. Everyone said good night and stretched out under the stars, but Rapunzel found herself wide awake, lying with her head on her folded hands. After a while, a voice broke the silence.

"Can't sleep?" Eugene asked softly.

"Are you surprised?" Rapunzel quipped back.

"No." Eugene sat down next to her.

"I just can't stop thinking about Cass," Rapunzel admitted. "Where she is right now, what she must be thinking or doing."

"We'll get her back," Eugene assured. "I know it."

"It's not just that," Rapunzel sighed. "What if… what if she was right?"

"About what?"

"About me. About being underappreciated. We all know she has as much skill as half the royal guard put together, yet she's stuck following me around the castle, worrying about things like my schedule, or my hemline."

"Hey," Eugene shook his head. "It's not like you chose that for her."

"But what have I done to help her see how much I value her? To help her reach her dreams? I upstaged her in the Challenge of the Brave, and I've contradicted almost every piece of advice she's given me since we left Corona."

"It's not a crime to disagree with someone, even Cass- actually, in some cases, _especially_ Cass."

"Eugene..." Rapunzel stifled a chuckle.

"Seriously, though," Eugene went on. "How many times have you done your best to patch things up between you and Cass? And each time, it's worked out. It's like you said; that wasn't our Cass back at the Dark Kingdom. Something happened to her; the Moonstone got her all corrupted or something, I dunno. The point is, it's all going to work out. I'm sure of it."

"I hope you're right. Heh. To think all _three _of us had destinies waiting for us in the Dark Kingdom."

"Yeah… definitely did not see that coming."

"How are you handling the whole _dark prince_ revelation?"

"Parts of that haven't fully sunk in yet, to be completely honest," Eugene nervously chuckled. "Not entirely sure what it all means. Especially considering what's left of our kingdom."

"Your dad seems nice," Rapunzel said encouragingly.

"He is. It's just… well, I understand why he sent me away- I mean, can you imagine growing up there?- but… why let me grow up an orphan? He only kept tabs on me using _ravens_."

"That, I couldn't say. But, I do know one thing. You know how he said you can tell a lot about a person from looking into his eyes? Well, I've looked into his, and I only see love and regret in them; the same way I saw the love and regret in your eyes when you thought you had to push me away to protect me."

"Heh," Eugene chuckled softly. "Guess it's not so hard to imagine doing something that hurts the person you love if you think it's for their own good."

"If you felt like talking to him tomorrow…" Rapunzel prodded.

"Maybe. Not sure if either of us are ready for a big father-son heart-to-heart yet."

"Well, I'm right here with you whatever you decide."

"Thank you. Now, you need to try to get some sleep. Tomorrow is another big day."

With a smile, Eugene kissed Rapunzel on the head.

"Would you stay by me tonight?" Rapunzel asked. "I really don't want to be alone."

"Of course, Sunshine," Eugene agreed. "Good night."

"Good night."

Rapunzel turned over once more, comforted by the warmth of Eugene's shoulder. Something told her that she probably should have protested when his arm wrapped around her, but she didn't. Before she knew it, her eyes had gently shut.

* * *

_Moonstone_

_Sundrop_

_Honor_

_Glory_

_Destiny_

_Rage_

_Loyalty_

_Betrayal_

_Power_

_Light_

_Oblivion_

Cassandra put her hands to her head, as if that would quiet the voices within. Only, the more she resisted, the louder they became. The louder the voices got, the more her blood boiled, urging her forward- to where, she didn't know, only that she had to keep going.

_What are you doing?_ She asked herself. _How could you do this to Rapunzel?_

_That girl doesn't deserve you_, a different voice said. _She used you. Lied to you as long as she's known you._

_She's your best friend._

_She's keeping you from your destiny._

_Is any destiny worth it without her in it?_

The voices rang round and round in her head. The agony pulled her in a million different directions. Equal parts of her wanted to keep pushing on, and drop to the ground and let herself fall into oblivion. It was enough to make her claw at her chest, wishing to free herself of the cursed opal. No luck, though. That left nothing for her but to continue on.

_Soon, Master Zhan Tiri._

* * *

Rapunzel woke up to a deep clearing of the throat. Opening her eyes, she saw the stern, long face of King Edmund. Jumping, she sat up and scooted away from Eugene.

"G-good morning, Your Majesty," she chuckled. "Did you sleep well?"

"I'm not one to jump to conclusions," Edmund replied. "But, this is how rumours start."

"Your Majes- er, Father!" Eugene exclaimed, her face turning red as he stood.

"I think I'll go see if Adira needs help with breakfast," Rapunzel said, excusing herself.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Eugene hissed as soon as she was out of earshot.

"I could ask you the same thing," King Edmund replied.

"Are you talking about me and Rapunzel? Nothing happened. I was just comforting her. For heaven's sake, she thought she lost me, fought the spirits of our ancestors, then her best friend stabbed her in the back all in one day!"

"Be that as it may," Edmund replied. "It isn't appropriate for a prince to be with a woman in that way, even when it doesn't lead to anything."

"Excuse me," Eugene said, narrowing his eyebrows. "Is that any of your business?"

"As king _and _your father-"

"Oh, so you get to be the father figure now that your crows are out of a job?"

"Ravens," Edmund corrected. "And what exactly do you mean by that?"

"I think you know full well what I mean!"

"_Biscuits anyone?" _Adira called, toting a tray of bread as she wedged between the two men.

"We're not finished with this discussion," Edmund huffed.

"You may not be," Eugene replied. "But I am."

_Oh boy, _Rapunzel thought as she joined the others around the fire. _This is going to be interesting._

For the most part, breakfast was silent. Awkward stares were the only thing shared between the company. Finally, once the plates were cleared, the group addressed their standing issue.

"So, what's the plan to save Cassandra?" Lance asked.

"Hard to say," Rapunzel answered. "As reassuring as it is to know Cass will try to find us eventually, we don't know when that will happen. In the meantime, we also don't know what the Moonstone will do to her."

"We don't exactly have a way of finding _her_ at the moment," Adira reminded.

"Maybe the scroll has some ideas," Lance suggested.

"You actually found the rest of Demanitus's scroll?" Adira said incredulously.

"Yeah, not long ago," Rapunzel nodded.

"Don't get me started," Eugene said, shaking his head. "It was this whole deal with a monkey and a labyrinth… Anyway, we still can't read it."

"May I see it?" King Edmund asked.

"Certainly," Rapunzel agreed. She pulled it from her bag and handed it to the king.

"You can read this?" Eugene asked.

"Perhaps. You'd be surprised the things you learn being raised in a castle."

"Yeah, guess I really would." the young prince scoffed.

"Anyway," King Edmund cleared his throat, unfurling the scroll. "Let's see here…"

"Flower, gleam and glow,

Let your power shine," he started.

"Yes, yes, the healing incantation," Eugene said. "We know that one."

"I thought you couldn't read this," Edmund huffed.

"I sort of grew up with someone who knew it," Rapunzel explained. "Long story."

"Ok, then…" he went on.

"Wither and decay,

End this destiny-"

"_Not that one!"_ the others cried in unison.

"We saw a translation of that one," Adira added.

"Well, there's only a couple of parts left," Edmund replied. "Let's see…"

"Sun and moon collide,

Two are made as one

The lights side-by-side

Darkness is undone"

"Huh," Rapunzel said. "So, reestablishing the fact that I need to touch the moonstone."

"But, I thought the Moonstone represented darkness," Eugene noted. "Here, it's called a light."

"By itself, it is darkness," Edmund nodded. "The moon has no light of its own. Without the sun's light to reflect, it's nothing but a hunk of rock. But, with the sun…"

"It shines," Rapunzel finished. "Giving light and hope even through the darkest night."

"Think the 'ultimate power' has something to do with that?"

"Could be," Rapunzel nodded. "Still doesn't give us any clues about what happened to Cass, though."

"There is one last stanza," Edmund cut in. "Although, I must note that it goes outside of the pattern of the others."

"Go for it," Rapunzel encouraged.

"The ultimate power may have but one master

One who interferes is bound for disaster

Unless the lights are reunited,

Darkness consumes the one who'd fight it."

"Meaning Cass," Rapunzel surmised. "If we don't find her and get that Moonstone… she'll be lost to us and herself forever."

And yet, still no one jumped with any suggestions on how to keep that from happening. What was there to do?


End file.
